Environmental Graffiti - which says its goal is to "search the vast realms of the internet on behalf of all environmentalists... and compile it into a daily blog" - also liked Sony’s decision to host, in partnership with the European Business School, a series of lectures debating the role of technology in helping to solve climate issues.

All good stuff, but is it really a sound basis for praising Sony so highly?

No less an organisation than Greenpeace awarded Sony only a mediocre score in its latest Guide to Greener Electronics – a best-to-worst ranking of leading electronics firms based on the organisation's own energy, e-waste and toxic chemical criteria.

Version 14, compiled in December last year, saw Sony score 5.1 points out of a possible ten.

The company moved from eighth to seventh place, gaining one point for reporting “absolute cuts in greenhouse gases emissions”. However, Greenpeace slammed the company over the efficacy of Sony's voluntary take-back scheme and the relatively small amount of renewable energy the manufacturer uses. ®